The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

THE

ROMANTIC FALLACY

57

orantiquarian

criticismitisrequiredtobe

'

scholarly,'

thatis, tocorrespond exactlytosome detail

previ-

ously used in the

period poetically approved. In

thisway,althoughitwouldseem

highlyunscholarly

not

to

discover the

aesthetic function ofdetail in

generalbeforedogmatisinguponitsuseinparticular

cases, theantiquarian criticism

of architecture has

usurped

the prestige of scholarship. And thus the

romantic attitude which begins in poetry ends

in

pedantry,andthetruespirit

ofarchitectureeludesit

altogether. Inthewarfareofromantic cbntroversy,

Renaissance forms were defiantly multiplied,

and

sneeringlyabused,asthoughthemeritofthe style

consisted in the detached and unvalued elements

common

to

thePiazzettaof

Veniceandtheclubsof

Pall Mall. Like the dishonoured fragments that

markthesiteofaforgottentemple,detail,mutilated

by ignorant

misuse—detail, and

the conventional

insigniaofthe

styles

—

^wasallthat remained

ofthe

brokenedificeofahumanisttradition. And,asthe

merit

of

Renaissancearchitectureconsistslessinthe

varietythaninthedispositionofitsforms,itbecame

atlast,asits

enemies accused itofalways having

been,thelifelessiterationofastereotypedmaterial.

\/

The

firstpitfall,therefore,intowhicharchitectural

criticismfellwasthatpreparedforitbythe

Romantic

Movement.

TheunderstandingofRenaissancearchi-

tecturesuffered from

this,andstillsuffers, bothby